Roll slicing machine



Dec. 3, 1963 D. s. LECRONE ROLL. SLICING MACHINE 5 Sheets-She s: 1

INVENTOR. DALE 5. LECRONE Filed Jan." 6. 1961 ATTORNEY Dec. 3, 1963 D. s. LECRONE 3,112,780

ROLL SLICING MACHINE Filed Jan. 6. 1961 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. DALE 5. LECRONE ATTORNEY Dec. 3, 1963 D. s. LECRONE ROLL SLICING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 6, 1961 m m M DALE 5. LECRONE Dec. 3, 1963 D. s. LECRONE ROLL SLICING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 6. 1961 INVENTOR. DALE 5. LECRONE TORNEY Dec. 3, 1963 D. s. LECRONE ROLL SLICING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 6, 1961 INVENTOR. LECRONE.

ORNEY United States Patent Filed Jan. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 81,087 14 Claims. (Cl. 14673) This invention relates to improvements in a roll slicing machine, and, more particularly, in a roll slicing machine .adapted to slice clusters of rolls, such as hamburger and frankfurter rolls.

To facilitate the handling of hamburger and frankfurter rolls, it is customary to bake the same in clusters, especially to facilitate the handling of the rolls after they areremoved from the pan by dc-panning operations for subsequent slicing or packaging operations. The handling of individual rolls, either for packaging or slicing, is timeconsum-ing and, particularly in regard to slicing, results in far less uniform slicing than when the rolls are handled in clusters.

By way of more specific examples, substantially circular hamburger rolls are baked generally in clusters of four, arranged in a square. Frankfurter rolls, on the other hand, being elongated, have, for a substantial period of time, been baked in side-by-side relationship in a straight row cluster of four. To facilitate the useof these rolls readily, especially in food dispensing establishments, handling large numbers of either hamburger or frankfurter sandwiches made with rolls, it is a great convenience to have the rolls sliced in a direction parallel to the bottom,

but said slice not entirely severing the roll. Thus, a hinge is provided which holds the top and bottom portions of the rolls together for handy insertion of fillings, such as hamburgers or frankfurters. For best results, it is'desirable to have this hinge portion of substantiallyuniform width, whereby rolls of uniform width or diameter are sliced horizontally for a substantially uniform depth to produce such uniform hinge portions.

Concerning such incomplete or partial slicing of a cluster of four hamburger rolls, it is quite a simple matter to slice each cluster by a pair of horizontal rotary knives having portions extending inward from the outer edge of the opposite sides of said cluster, whereby the rolls, where they are connected in the middle to. form the cluster, do not need to beseparated and the connected edges respectively comprise the hinge portions of the rolls. However, in the slicing of frankfurter rolls, wherein a'cluster customarily comprises at least four rolls in side-by-side relationship 'crosswise, it is obvious that a single pair of spaced, horizontal knives can be used only to partially slice the outermost roll at opposite ends of the cluster While the cluster travels past said knives along a line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongated frankfurter roll. Accordingly, it is necessary to form at least a partial separation between certain adjacent rolls of the cluster incident to slicing the same horizontally, and this is accomplished by utilizing a vertical knife to slice a cluster partially in an upward direction from the bottom at least to a level of the horizontal slice to be formed, whereby, upon introducing a horizontal lknife mounted on the top end of a vertical drive shaft which will pass through the partial vertical slit between the two adjacent frankfurter rolls,'partial horizontal slicing of such two adjacent rolls 3,1 12,780 Patented Dec. 3, 1963 vidual size of the franlcfurters has been decreased so that ten frankfurters are in a package of one pound. Such packages enjoy wide sale in super food markets and other types of grocery and meat stores. Therefore, to make it handy, as well as sanitary, for the purchasing public, hamburger and fran kfurter rolls, likewise, are sold in packages, usually of transparent wrapping material, and, whereas it was previously customary for eight, or two clusters of four frankfurter rolls, to be contained in each package, with the advent of the ten frank furter package, it has been necessary for bakers to increase their packages of frankfurter rolls to ten in number, and the easiest way to handle ten is to bake clusters of five each, arranged in sideby-side relationship.

The production of clusters of five frankfurter rolls in side-by-side arrangement and baked in connected manner has presented problems for the bakers, in conjunction with slicing said rolls, and, particularly, in slicing the same on slicing machines which must also be capable of slicing clusters of four frankfurter rolls arranged crosswise in a row or four hamburger rolls arranged in a square, especially since there is still-substantial demand for slicing such clusters of four trankfurter rolls and square clusters of hamburger rolls.

Another problem engendered by the advent of the five frankfurter roll cluster is that the cluster is fairly wide relative to its length, and, inasmuch as the clusters preferably are moved through slicing machines along paths parallel to the longitudinal axes of the rolls, problems are presented in regard to guiding said clusters so as to move accurately along straight paths while the entire cluster extends in a transverse manner to the axes of said paths, especially so as to be positioned precisely as desired in a transverse direction upon feed belts for delivery to the vertical and horizontal slicing knives. Considering the fact that the rolls are removed from the pan prior to the slicing operation, it is not possible to utilize the pans to facilitate the guiding of the rolls to and through the slicing machine and especially past the knives thereof. Accordingly, guide grooves or concave edges, which are formed along the opposite lower edges of individual frankfurter rolls by appropriately shaped ridges formed in the pans in which said rolls are baked, are utilized to facilitate guiding the rolls during feeding thereof to said knives. These ridges which occur in the pan along the dividing lines between'adjacent rolls, are formed in the pan primarily to position the shape lumps of raw dough when deposited in the pan, and, incidentally, the grooves formed thereby aid in the breaking apart of the rolls.

Still another problem which has somewhat plagued the baking industry, in conjunction with the slicing of rolls, for some time has been the fact that during such slicing operations, even though the rolls have been subjected to cooling prior to slicing, the horizontal knives, particularly, generate considerable heat due to friction between the knives and the rolls. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for these relatively thin rotary slicing blades, which travel at fairly high rotary speeds, to become somewhat coated, to various degrees of thickness and area, with glutinous material from the interior of the rolls and such coatings become firmly adhered to the blades due to such heat, the same being somewhat in the nature of varnish. This seriously reduces the cutting efliciency of the knives, as well as impairing the type of slice made in the rolls.

Having in mind the foregoing problems, it is a princi pal object of the present invention to provide a roll slicing.

machine preferably having at least four vertical slicing knives respectively and independently carried by supporting means which are capable of moving the blades be tween inoperative and operative slicing positions, and also provide positioning means operable upon said supporting means so as selectively to project into operative position either two or four of the vertical slicing knives, for example, whereby the slicing machine readily and quickly is changed between conditions in which clusters either of four or five frankfurter rolls, for example, may be sliced partially vertically, where necessary, in order to accommodate the required number of horizontal slicing knives which are operable to sever each roll of each cluster incompletely while the cluster moves as a relatively straight transverse row past the slicing knives.

Another object of the invention is to provide readily operable means for spacing both the horizontal and vertical slicing knives transversely relative to each other, whereby the slicing machine readily may be converted from slicing clusters, for example, of four circular hamburger rolls to slicing transverse row clusters of either four or five elongated frankfurter rolls, all with equal facility and, also, to provide means for indicating the transverse spacing of the knives relative to a fixed line on the slicing machine, such as the longitudinal center thereof.

One further object of the invention is to provide air jet means by which blasts of air under pressure can be utilized adjacent the knives for the dual purpose of opening the vertical slices made by the vertical knives between certain adjacent rolls of a cluster of rolls and, thereby, facilitate the passage through said partial vertical incisions of the vertical shafts which support and rotate the horizontal slicing knives and, still further, said jets of air preferably are directed against the horizontal slicing blades, thereby to cool the same and minimize the caking or coating of fresh dough thereon and the undue heating of the knives in regard to the continuous operations of slicing freshly baked rolls.

Still another object of the invention is to provide simple, yet highly effective, chuck means for retaining the shafts or spindles of the horizontal knives within hubs which support and rotate said knives and shafts, together with simple and unique means for simultaneously, and at least partially, ejecting and uncoupling said shafts of the horizontal knives from the chuck in which they are secured removably.

Details of the foregoing objects and of the invention are set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprising a part thereof.

in the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective side elevation of a roll slicing machine embodying the principles of the present invention and showing, in phantom, certain additional equipment not comprising part of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, enlarged plan view of the portion of the roll slicing machine in which the horizontal and vertical knives are mounted, together with mechanism for raising and lowering the vertical knives and also for spacing the knives adjustably, in a horizontal direction, relative to each other, in a direction transverse to the path of movement of the rolls through the slicing machine.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 and comprises a plan view of the feed end of the slicing machine and illustratesclusters of rolls in the process of being introduced to the guide means of the slicing machine.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, vertical elevation, partly in vertical section, taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2, showing one of the knife supporting units, including the knife ejecting means, a horizontal slicing knife and its vertical shaft, and a vertical slicing knife carried by a pivoted arm, as well as the air-conducting means which directs a blast of air against the horizontal knife, the vertical slicing knife being shown in position to slice an exemplary roll vertically in this view.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but showing the ertical knife retracted to inoperative position and the knife-ejecting means being shown at the end of its ejecting operation to facilitate the removal of the horizontal slicing knives and vertical shafts thereof from the knife-supporting unit.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary side elevation, partly broken away, to illustrate, in full lines, the chuck in keyed engagement with the lower end of the vertical spindle of the horizontal knives, and, in broken lines, the position occupied by the shaft and chuck after the shaft has been partially elevated by the shaft-ejecting means.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary end elevation, in larger scale than in the preceding figures, and showing an end view of an exemplary cluster of five frankfurter rolls, particularly illustrating the longitudinally extending grooves formed on the bottom surfaces of the cluster coincident with the vertical separation planes between adjacent rolls.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view of transversely aligned pairs of clusters, of four frankfurter rolls each, prior to moving into engagement initially with a single, vertical slicing knife engageable with each cluster of five horizontal slicing knives which horizontally slice, simultaneously, two clusters of four frankfurter rolls each.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, but showing the knives of the slicing machine, including both horizontal and vertical knives, spaced differently, relative to each other, from the arrangement shown in FIG. 8 and, in addition, there being two pairs of vertical knives respectively arranged to slice each cluster of five frankfurter rolls, as distinguished from the clusters of four frankfurter rolls shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic plan view of several exemplary horizontal knife arrangements for purposes of illustrating the different relative spacings capable of achievement by the machine, in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 11 is a vertical elevation showing an exemplary air nozzle, substantially enlarged over the scale shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and supported by a fragmentary portion of the knife-supporting arm to which it is connected.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary roll slicing machine 10 is shown comprising a suitable frame, the end 12 comprising the entrance end, the same being arranged, for example, if desired, to be connected to a de-panning machine. Accordingly, if a de-panning machine is connected to said entrance end of the roll slicing machine 10, it will be seen that the de-panned clusters of rolls may move slidably onto suitable conveying means, details of which are better shown in subsequent figures and will be described hereinafter, so as to be carried into the slicing head 14. From the slicing head, the sliced rolls, in clusters, are moved along the conveyor 16, past auxiliary slicing means 18, if desired, to an exit or discharge end 20 which, for example, may lead to a wrapping or packaging machine.

The present invention primarily is concerned with the slicing head 14 and the portion of the frame of the slicing machine 10 directly below said head and within which portion the positioning and operating mechanism of the slicing knives is mounted. Such details are better illustrated, especially on a larger scale, in FIGS. 2 and 3, to which reference now is made.

Although the slicing machine 10 comprises, preferably, a plurality, of transversely spaced conveying belts arranged in a transversely spaced series extending longitudinally along the bed of the machine, which belts may constitute, if desired, part of the conveyor 16, for which suitable supporting means for said belts are provided, the illustration in FIG. 2 has eliminated said belts primarily to simplify the illustration and render the details of the slicing knives more evident. FIG. 2, therefore, principally illustrates the supporting and adjusting mechanism for both the horizontal and vertical slicing knives.

In FIG. 2, it will be seen that there are a pair of opposed parallel frame members 22 and 24 which comprise a rigid part of the frame of the machine 10. There also is a sub-frame comprising a pair of transversely spaced side sub-frame members 26 and 28 which are connected by a pair of spaced, parallel transverse frame and guide members 30 and 32 which are connected at the opposite ends thereof respectively to the sub-frame members 26 and 28.

The sub-frame comprising members 26, 28, 30 and 32 is vertically adjustable relative to the fixed frame comprising side frame members 22 and 24, such adjustment being effected by suitable vertical, parallel threaded means disposed at opposite sides of the frame, not shown, but which threaded means are commonly and simultaneously operated by actuating wheel 34 shown in FIG; 1.

The transverse frame and guide members 30 and 32 preferably are cylindrical rods of substantial diameter and upon these rods a plurality of knife-supporting blocks 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44 are mounted slidably. Details of these blocks are better shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and it is to be understood that, while five of such blocks are shown in exemplary manner in FIG. 2, such number is not to be regarded as limiting, in accordance with the principles of the invention.

Each of said blocks 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44 rotatably support a vertical, elongated spindle 46 having a driving pulley 48 thereon. The spindle preferably is supported in suitable bearings, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, adjacent the upper and lower ends of the blocks. Coaxially Within the spindles 46 are drive shafts 50, each of which have a relatively thin disc knife 52 connected to the upper end thereof for support by said shaft. The knives 52 are referred to as the horizontal slicing knives and it will be noted that the shafts 50 are of relatively small diameter,

beneficially for purposes to be described.

Fixed to the lower end of each spindle 46 is a relatively short, stubby hub 53 having an opening 54 which is coaxial with the cylindrical opening within'the spindle 46, the opening 54 receiving the lower end of the drive shaft 50. The hub 53 is mounted fixedly to the lower end of the spindle 46 in any suitable manner.

In order that the shafts 50 may rotate simultaneously with the spindle 46 to which the hub 53 is fixed, the lower end of drive shaft 50 is provided with an arcuate key recess 56, such as is capable of receiving a semi-circular Woodrulf key 58. Said key 58 is also received within a suitable vertical recess 60 formed within hub 53, said re cess extending to a rear wall 62 therein, as clearly shown to the dotted line position thereof, in order that the curved I surface of the key may engage the cylindrical outer surface of the drive shaft 50 as, for example, when the key recess 56 has been moved vertically upward to the dotted line position thereof shown in FIG. 6. Such keying means and operating means therefor affords a very simple, yet highly effective, means for readily releasing the drive shaft 5t) from the spindle 46, yet such means is highly adequate to retain the keys within the keying recesses 56 of the shafts 58 when the shafts are locked securely within the spindles 46 and the hubs 53.

To facilitate the'insertion of the shafts 50 into the hollow spindles 46, it will be seen that the lower end of the shafts 50, at one side thereof, are provided with a diagonal cam surface 68 which is engageable with the curved surface of the key 58 during the downward movement of the shafts 58 within the spindle 46. Further, by feeling the engagement of the cam surface 68 against the key 58, and considering the fact that cam surface 68 and key recess 56 are longitudinally aligned with each other,-ready engagement of the key 58 with the key recess 56 is assured by pushing the shafts 50 still further downward after the cam surface 68 has contacted key 58.

To insure against accidental disconnection of the drive shafts 56 of the horizontal knives 52 from the driving spindles 46 and hubs 53, the rubber pressure means for the keys 58 are of a relatively strong nature so as to maintain the shafts 50 within the spindles 46 with substantial security. Accordingly, to attempt to extract the shafts 50 from the spindles 46, for example, by engaging manually the edges of the knives 52 connected to the shafts 58, considerable force has to be exerted and this is not only dangerous from the standpoint of the operator, but also there is a possibility of canting or bending the blades. Accordingly, the present invention provides a simple but highly effective means not only for aiding in the ejection of the shaft 50 from the spindles 46, but all of the shafts of the knives may be ejected simultaneously, at least partially upward, and at least sufficiently to cam the keys 58 into retracted dotted line position, such as shown in FIG. 6,- following which the knives 52 or the portions of the shafts 50 adjacent thereto readily may be engaged by an operator and pulled the remainder of the required distance vertically in order to completely separate the shafts and knives from the spindles 46.

The ejecting means, which is clearly shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, comprises hangers 70 which are supported by the vertically movable sub-frame comprising guide members 26 and 28. Extending between the hangers 70 is a shaft 72 and adjacent the inner face of each hanger 70 is an arm 74 which is fixedly connected to the shaft 72. On one outer end of the shaft 72 is a hub 76 to which an operating lever 78 is connected fixedly. A compression spring 89 extends between a fixed lug 82 and the handle '78, there also being a stop lug 84 above handle 78 to limit upward movement thereof. Extending transversely across the frame of the machine between the outer ends of arms 74 is a pressure bar 86 which simultaneously engages the lower ends of all the guide shafts 50, whereby when the operating handle'78 is moved downwardly, or counter-clockwise, as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 5, from the position shown in FIGURE 4 to the position shown in FIG. 5, the bar 86 will move upwardly and thereby project all of the shafts 50 upwardly simultaneously relative to the spindles 46, whereupon the uncoupling of the shafts from the keys 58 is accomplished as illustrated in FIG. 6 and described hereinabove.

Also supported by each of the knife supporting blocks Extending transversely to the outer endof each arm unit 88 is a shaft 92. -On one sideof theouter end of the arm unit 88 and within a plane intersecting the, vertical shaft 56 of each of the knife-supporting blocks to which the arm units 88 are pivoted, as well as being parallel .to'

the longitudinal axis of the entire machine, is a vertical slicing knife 94 which is 'detachably fixed to the shaft 92. of each of said arm units 88 so as to be driven thereby,

On the opposite side of the outer end of each arm unit 88,

relative to the vertical knives 94 and fixed to the shafts 92, are driving pulleys 96.

Extending between the sub-frame members 26 and 28 for rotary support at opposite ends thereof is a drive shaft 98 upon which an elongated cylindrical drive drum or pulley is fixed. Said drum permitsthe drive belts 102 or pulleys 96 to be positioned longitudinally there-, along in conformity with the spacing of the pulleys 96 in' a transverse direction relative to the subframe comprising members 26 and 28, whereby the flexible drive belts 102 extend between each of the aligned pulleys 96 andthe driving drum 180. When the arm units'88 are in the elevated position shown in FIG. 4, they are driven by the shafts 98 and belts 192. However, the arm units 88 are capable of being lowered'to the inoperative position, by

means to be described, as shown in FIG. 5, and when so lowered, the distance between the shafts 92 and 98 is less than that between the same when the arm units 88 are elevated, as shown in FIG. 4, whereupon the belts 102 are slack when in the relative position of the members shown in FIG. 5, thereby disconnecting the knives 94 from driving engagement with the drive shaft 98.

Referring to the diagrammatic illustrations shown respectively in FIGS. 8 and 9, and considering first the illustration of FIG. 8, it will be seen that there are clusters 104 of exemplary frankfurter rolls each comprising 4 rolls. These clusters extend crosswise between central guide member 106 and outer guide member 188, the clusters being supported by conveyor means 118, such as a set of transversely spaced, endless flexible rubber belts, or the like, driven by suitable means not comprising part of the present invention. The clusters 164 are moved in the direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 8 in order that they first might be intersected by the vertical knives 94 so as to form a slice extending upwardly from the bottom a distance substantially equal to the height of the horizontal knives 52. This vertical slice is indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 7 by the bracket indicated V within the cluster of rolls shown in exemplary manner in FIG. 7, and in which said cluster, incidentally, specifically corresponds to those shown in FIG. 9. It is preferred that such vertical slices extend only partially between two adjacent rolls in the clusters in order that the upper portion of each cluster may still retain the rolls together and thereby facilitate the handling of the entire cluster after they have been sliced both vertically and horizontally a substantial amount, but not completely through, the rolls in both directions.

After the clusters 104, comprising 4 rolls each, successively pass the vertical knives 94 which are in the elevated position shown in FIG. 4, they then pass to the transverse row of horizontal knives 52 which are driven simultaneously and preferably within the rotary directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 8, whereby there will be no attempt to tear or flip the rolls from their intended path of movement. The shafts 50 of knives 52 are driven by a belt, not shown, which extends around pulleys 48 in suitable manner to effect the rotating directions indicated by said arrows.

The knives 52 can be adjusted to slice the rolls horizontally at any desired level, the exemplary level indicated by the broken horizontal line H in FIG. 7 being intended to be merely one exemplary height, rather than being restricting in nature. As stated hereinabove, the height of the horizontal knives 52 above the conveyor surface 118 may be regulated by manipulating the actuating wheel 34 shown in FIG. 1.

In view of the foregoing, inasmuch as the vertical knives 94 make vertical incisions between two adjoining rolls which, in the example of the clusters 104 of 4 rolls each, shown in FIG. 8, will be between the two centermost rolls, and since said partial vertical incision will be at least as deep as the height of the horizontal blade 52, when the thus partially vertically sliced clusters reach the horizontal knives 52, the blades will incompletely slice the rolls horizontally, in accordance with the diagrammatic illustration of the broken lines H in FIG. 7. Then, when the rolls advance far enough that the shafts 50 are encountered by the rolls, said shaft readily passes through the partial vertical incision until the clusters completely pass the horizontal knives, but the upper portions of the rolls remain connected and can be handled as a cluster.

Considering now the clusters of rolls 112 shown in FIG. 9 and each comprising 5 frankfurter rolls, which clusters are also guided between the central guide member 106 and outer guide members 108 by operation of the conveyor 110, it will be seen that to slice each roll of said 5 roll clusters incompletely horizontally, the same 5 horizontal knives 52 shown employed in FIG. 8 will be adequate to incompletely slice each roll of a total of 10' rolls, comprising two clusters of 5 rolls each, arranged in transverse alignment, as shown in FIG. 9. However, to accomplish this, the spacing of the knives 52 relative to each other will have to be changed from that shown in FIG. 8 in that the outermost knives 52 now will have to pass between the two outermost rolls in each of the clusters in the pair of clusters moving in transverse alignment but along the longitudinal axis of the slicing machine.

From FIG. 9 it will be seen that the center horizontal knife 52 will slice the two innermost rolls of each of the two clusters .112. horizontally, the two outermost knives 5.2 will slice horizontally the two outermost rolls of each of said clusters, and the two remaining knives, which are between the central and outermost knives, will slice the two remaining rolls of each cluster horizontally. However, this arrangement will require four vertical knives 94 so as to provide incomplete vertical incisions extending upward from the bottom surfaces of the rolls of the clusters 112, especially to provide passageways for the shafts of the horizontal knives 52.

By comparison of FIGS. 8 and 9, it also will be seen that the transverse spacing of the vertical knives 94 in FIG. '9 is quite different from that shown in FIG. 8, aside from the fact that there are four vertical knives employed in the arrangement of FIG. 9, as distinguished from two in the arrangement of FIG. 8. This different arrangement of four instead of two vertical knives readily is accomplished, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, by the following means.

Each of the pivoted arm units 88 have 21 depending leg 114, the lower end of which rotatably supports an anti-friction roller 116. For simplicity of operation, the two innermost vertical knives 94, considered relative to FIG. 2, preferably are the ones which are moved always to the elevated position, such as shown in FIG. 4, anytime vertical slicing is required. It will be assumed, without restriction thereto, that the machine preferably has four vertical knives, as shown in FIG. 2. Accordingly, it is the two outermost knives 94 which will be arranged to be lowered when only the two innermost knives 94 are required, but they also can be elevated. Furthermore, it is to be understood that, under certain operations of the machine, no vertical slicing of any kind will be required, whereupon all four knives will be lowered, preferably simultaneously.

Extending between the frame members 26 and 28 of the subframe is a cam shaft 118 having a sprocket gear 120, see FIG. 2, connected to one end thereof. Also, rotatably supported upon a suitable, short shaft supported by one of the side members of the sub-frame is an actuating knob 122, as shown in FIG. 1, and partially shown in the lower right-hand corner of FIG. 2. A partially illustrated sprocket gear 124 is fixed to the same shaft as knob 12 2 and a sprocket chain 126 surrounds the sprocket gears and 124, whereby rotation of the knob 122 in opposite directions respectively rotates the cam shaft 118 in opposite directions and correspondingly actuates the cams thereon in opposite directions, details of which cams are as follows.

The innermost vertical knives 94 are elevated and lowered by substantially circular eccentrics 128 fixed to cam shaft 118, the same having positioning notches 130 and 132 of adequate depth at substantially diametrically opposed positions. These notches receive the anti-friction rollers 116 supported by the pivoted arm units 88 of the two innermost vertical knives. Accordingly, when the arm units 88 of the innermost vertical knives are elevated, the circular eccentrics or cams 128 will be in the position shown in FIG. 4, and in which position the rollers 116 will be within recesses 132. However, when the cam shaft 118 has been rotated to the position shown in FIG. 5, and in which position the arm units 88 are lowered to inoperative position, the rollers 116 of the arm units 88 will be disposed within the notches 130 of the circular eccentrics or cams 128 of the innermost vertical knife units. The weight of the arm units 88 and mechanism carried thereby is suflicient that the notches 130 and 132 readily are capable of accurately holding the arm units and vertical blades in each of the two principal positions thereof described above, without further aid of any kind or of any need for locking devices.

The cam means for vertically positioning the outermost pivoted arm units 88, either in elevated operative or lowered inoperative positions, are shaped somewhat differently from the circular eccentrics 128 by which the innermost arm units and vertical blades thereof are positioned. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, which are side views on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2, whereby the outermost arm unit 86 is seen and thus cam 134 is in front of eccentric 128, it will be seen that hook-shaped cams 134, having suitable hubs 136, are fixed to cam shaft 118 in suitable longitudinal position thereof to engage the rollers 116 of the arm units 88 of the outermost vertical knives 94.

The outer end of the hook portions of the cams 134 also have positioning notches 132 also therein, in transverse alignment with the notches 13-2 of the circular eccentrics 128, whereby when all of the vertical blades 94 are to be elevated, the movement, for example, of the cam shaft 118 in'clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS.

4 and 5, will serve simultaneously to position all of the pivoted arm units 88 and their vertical knives in the elevated position shown in FIG. 4, in which position the rollers .116 will be disposed within the positioning notches 132. However, upon further rotation in clockwise direction, the rollers 116 of the outermost vertical blades and pivoted arm units will drop off of the ends of the hookshaped cam members 134. and cause said outermost vertical blades and pivoted arms to drop to the lowered, inoperative position shown in FIG. 5. Continued movement in clockwise direction also will cause the innermost vertical blades to move the lower positions.

Under conditions where the pivoted arm units 88 are in the lower, inoperative condition, such as shown in FIG. 5, if it is desired, for example, to elevate only the two innermost vertical knives 94, it is preferable to rotate the knob 122 on cam shaft 118 in counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 5, whereupon the circular eccentries 128 will elevate the two innermost vertical knives 94, while the rollers 116 of the arm units supporting the outermost vertical knives 94 merely will ride around the peripheral surface of the hubs 136 of the hook-shaped cams 134. Then, finally, the concave surface of the hook elements per se of the hook=shaped cams 134 will abut said rollers 116 and thus positively stop further rotation of the shaft 118 and the cams and eccentrics carried thereby in counter-clockwise direction. This is the relative position of the above-described elements that is illustrated in FIG. 4.

By referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the exemplary clusters 112 of rolls each are provided with a, plurality of longitudinally extending grooves 138 in'the lower surfaces adjacent the vertical boundaries between adjacent rolls, it being understood that the rolls are still connected together, though in a readily separable manner, along said boundaries, even after being partially sliced from the lower surface upward by the vertical knives 94.

The grooves 138 are formed in the bottom surfaces of the roll clusters by ridges formed in the bake pans which.

are not illustrated, said ridges principally being for purposes of at least approximately locating the shaped pieces of raw dough, as desired, relative to each other and the overall pan area, when placed within the pans, primarily to keep the raw and sticky pieces or lumps of dough from becoming unduly misplaced within the intended cavities or spaced areas therefor in the bake pans. However, as a result of said ridges being formed in the bake pans, the grooves 138 result between adjacent rolls and also semi-grooves 140 occur adjacent the opposite outer lower edges of the cluster 112. It will be understood that simi- 10 lar grooves and semi-grooves occur in corresponding locations in the lower surfaces of the 4-roll clusters 104 illustrated in FIG. 8.

While said grooves and semi-grooves incidentally aid in separating the rolls from each other, and particularly between the rolls which have no partial vertical slicing occurring therebetween, it has been found, in accordance with the present invention, that said grooves may be utilized very beneficially for purposes of guiding the clusters along the bed of the slicing machine and thereby aid in very accurately positioning the clusters in a transverse direction While moving along said bed and thereby enable the vertical knives, particularly, to partially slice the boundary areas between adjacent rolls in a highly accurate manner.

To effect such desired guiding of the roll clusters, the hereinbefore mentioned central guide member and pair of outer guide members 108, which are best shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, are supported adjustably upon the bed of the machine. The central gniide member 106 may be rigidly secured to the bed frame of the machine by any suitable means, such as vertical bolts, not shown, depending from the bottom of the guide member 106 and suitable nuts securing the guide member in operative position upon the bed. However, it will be seen particularly by comparing FIGS. 8 and 9, that the outer guide members 168 are spaced farther from the central guide member 106, in the arrangement of FIG. 9 for accom modating S-roll clusters, than they are in the arrangement in FIG. 8, in which they accommodate 4-rol1 clusters between the central guide member and the outer guide members. Accordingly, the outer guide members 168 very conveniently may be provided with transversely and outwardly extending supporting pins 142 shown in exemplary manner in FIG. 3, said pins extending through suitable horizontal holes in the frame members 22 and 24 of the machine, and appropriate locking thumb bolts 144 threadably extend into the frame members 22 and 24 for engagement with the supporting pins 142 and thereby releasably secure the same in adjusted position at desired distances from the central guide member 106. The exemplary manner in which the central and outer guide members are received with-in the semigrooves 148 of the cluster 112 is clearly shown in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 2, the means for transversely adjusting the various knife-supporting blocks 36, 38, 4'2 and 44 relative, to the central knife-supporting block 40 will now be described. Sub-frames 146 and 148, respectively, comprise transversely spaced outer guide members 150 and inner guide members 152. Such outer-and inner guide members 150 and 152 of each of the sub-frames 146 and 148 are slidably guided upon guide members 30 and 32 which extend transversely across the bed frame of the machine. Fixed respectively to the outer guide member 150 of each sub-frame and projecting horizontally outward therefrom are oppositelythreaded rods 154, thesame being pinned to the sub-frames'to prevent relative rotation. Threadably rotated upon each of said oppositely threaded rods 154 are complementarily threaded sprocket gears, 156 which are maintained against axial movement relative to the sub-frames by being located between spaced parallel plates 158 which are fixed to the sub-frame members 26 and 28 at opposite sides of the machine.

Extending transversely across the bed of the machine is an operating shaft 160 having a hand wheel 162 on one outer end thereof, as shown in FIG. 1 and also in the lower part of FIG. 2. Additionally fixed to the shaft 160 adjacent opposite ends thereof is a pair of drive sprockets 164, which respectively are connected to the internally threaded sprocket gears 156 by sprocket chains 166. 'Hence, as the hand wheel 162 is rotated in one direction, the sprocket gears 156 which are threaded upon the rods 154'simultaneously will be rotated so as to move the sub-frames 146 and 148 respectively toward or away 1 1 from each other, as well as the central knife-supporting block 40.

The sub-frame 146 is connected to the knife-supporting blocks 42 and 44, and the sub-frame 151) is connected to the knife-supporting blocks 36 and 38. Knife-supporting block 49 preferably remains stationary but, in certain special situation, the same may be mounted so as to be movable transversely of the bed of the machine and, under such circumstances, appropriate movement-effecting means will have to be provided. The knife-supporting blocks 38 and 42 respectively are connected to the sub-frames 148 and 146 by any suitable means, such as short, transverse, oppositely threaded rods 168 :which respectively are fixed at one end to the knife-supporting blocks 38 and 42, the other ends thereof being threadably received within rotatable and internally threaded sprocket gears 170 which are positioned between opposed surfaces within inner guide members 152 so as to prevent axial movement relative to said guide members during rotation of the sprocket gears 170.

The threads of one set of threaded rods and sprocket gears 168 and 170 being opposite to that of the other set, as the sprocket gears 170 are rotated commonly in a single rotary direction, the knife-supporting blocks 33 and 41 simultaneously will be moved either toward or away from each other, as well as relative to the other knife-supporting block of the sub-unit of which it is a member. It will be understood that the horizontal and vertical knives respectively carried by the supporting blocks will be moved transversely relative to the frame as the knife-supporting blocks are moved relative thereto.

To effect transverse spacing of the knife-supporting blocks 38 and 42 relative to the other knife-supporting blocks of each of the sub-units, which movement is achieved simultaneously, an operating shaft 172 extends transversely of the machine parallel to the cam shaft 118, for example, and adjacent the same, said shaft 172 being suitably journaled in projecting arms 174 on the inner guide members 2, for example, it being understood that the projecting arms 174 are slidable longitudinally along the shaft 172 and longitudinally keyed to the shaft 172 is a pair of sprocket gears i175. Suitable sprocket chains 178 respectively connect the internally threaded sprockets v171 and the sprockets 176 which are keyed for axial movement relative to shaft 172.

From FIG. 2, it also will be seen that one end of the shaft 172' extends through the frame member 22 and has a sprocket gear 180 fixed to the outer end thereof. Also, journaled suitably within frame member 22 is a stub shaft 182. Fixed to the outer end of shaft 182 is a hand wheel 184. Similarly, a sprocket gear 188, likewise, is fixed to shaft 182, and a suitable sprocket chain extends around the sprocket gears 180, 186 and 138, whereby the rotation of the hand wheel 184- in opposite directions will function simultaneously to space the knives carried by the supporting blocks 38 and 42 either closer to or farther from the knives supported by the supporting blocks 36 and 44. If space would permit the mounting of the hand wheel 184 directly upon the outer end of shaft 172, the stub shaft 182, the sprocket gears 18%, 186 and 188, and the sprocket chain surrounding the same could be eliminated, but space in the particular arrangement illustrated herein does not permit such direct mounting of the hand wheel 184 upon shaft 172.

FIG. 10 illustrates, diagrammatically, certain possibilities of adjustment between the blades 52. Considering the fragmentary left-hand blade the center one which normally is rotated about a fixed vertical axis, it will be seen that FIG. 10 represents the right-hand side of the arrangement of horizontal knives 52 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Hence, assuming that the center and right-hand knives initially are spaced apart the distances identified as X, and it is desired to effect the wider spacings shown as Y, the blades A first are moved, as a unit, from the central blade by rotation of hand wheel 162. Then, the hand wheel 184 is actuated substantially to center the left-hand knife A of the pair of knives A, and thereby produce the equal spacings Y between all of the blades of the machine. It will be understood that the blades of the left-hand side of the feed conveyor section simultaneously will be adjusted when the right-hand blades are moved as described above. The desired spacings visually and readily are indicated by the indicating fingers 204 and 206 relative to scale 202.

For purposes of cooling the horizontal knives 152, attention is directed preferably to FIGS. 4, 5 and 11, wherein it will be seen that each of the pivoted arm units 88 is provided with an air nozzle 199, which extends upward and rearward relative to the path of movement of the rolls, as viewed in FIG. 4, so as to discharge a blast 192 of air against the undersurface of the horizontal knife 52 of each of the slicing units. The nozzle 190 preferably is quite simple and comprises a horizontal head 194 which has a reduced portion suitable to extend through one of the arm members of the pivoted arm units 8 8, as clearly shown in FIG. 11, and a locking ring or nut 196 is threaded on the opposite end thereof. The extremity 198 is arranged to receive one end of a flexible conduit 2%. The opposite ends of the conduits 200 may communicate with a suitable common distributor pipe or the like which is connected to a suitable source of air under pressure, said source preferably comprising a compressor carried by the machine, whereby the source of air pressure is self-contained in the machine.

As is best seen from FIG. 2, the nozzles 190 are positioned preferably so as to be longitudinally aligned, in the direction of the major axis of the machine, with the drive shafts 50 of the horizontal knives 52. Thus, the major effect of the spread of the blast H2 can be imparted to each of the knives 52 and thereby afford a maximum amount of cooling. Further, these blasts are substantially within the same vertical planes as the vertical knives 94 which partially incise each of the clusters of rolls for a portion of the vertical height of the clusters from the lower surfaces thereof, whereby said blasts tend to open the partial vertical incisions and thereby facilitate the passage of the upper portion of the drive shafts 5t therethrough.

To facilitate visual inspection of the spacing of the knifesupporting blocks relative to each other, as well as the spacing of the sub-frames 146 and 148 from the center knife-supporting block 40, for example, the present invention provides indicating means comprising a scale 202, shown in FIG. 1, relative to which a pair of indicating fingers 204 and 206 move. Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of double guide pulleys 208 and 210 are mounted within brackets for movement about fixed vertical axes. In these plan views, it will be understood that the grooves in the pulleys are positioned one above the other in a vertical direction, whereby a pair of vertically spaced flexible cables 212 and 214 extend in right angled directions partially around the pulley 210, as shown in FIG. 2, one end of the cable 212 being connected to the supporting block 42, and one end of cable 214- being connected to the knife-supporting block 44.

From the pulley 210, the cables extend toward the entrance of the machine, along the side of the frame of the machine to the double pulley 208 and around the same the opposite ends being connected respectively to one end of tension springs 215. The opposite ends of said springs are fixed in any suitable manner stationarily relative to the frame of the machine. Hence, as the supporting blocks 42 and 44 are moved transversely of the frame by operation of the hand wheels 162 and 184, the springs 216 will be tensioned so as to permit variable movement of the ends of the cables 212 and 214 connected to said springs 216, it being understood that the indicating fingers 264 and 206 respectively are connected to the cables 212 and 214. Hence, the springs 216 always exert take-up tension upon the cables and keep them taut within the limited range of movement of the knife-supporting blocks 42 and 44 relative to the central supporting block 40.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in its several preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated-and described, since the same may be carried out in other ways falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A roll slicing machine operable to form vertical slits between adjacent pairs of rolls connected in a cluster either of odd or even numbers of rolls in excess of two formed in a row, means to feed said row clusters of rolls along a path in said machine while extending transversely to said path, a plurality of vertical shafts each having one end intersecting said path and spaced apart in a direction transverse to said path, horizontal knife means supported by said ends of said shafts and operable to slice rolls of said clusters in parallellism to the bottoms thereof, :a plurality of vertical knife means spaced apart transversely of said path a distance at least equal to the width of two rolls and mounted for movement into and away from positions to intersect certain of the connections between said rolls. at least partially to slice said clusters vertically between adjacent rolls, thereby to form slits to receive said ends of said vertical shafts, positioning means interengageable with said vertical knife means and operable selectively to move a desired number of said vertical knife means into position to intersect said path and hold the said knife means so positioned to form slits between adjacent rolls to divide said cluster at least partially into pairs of rolls, and unitary actuating means for said positioning means operable selectively in different directions to move a predetermined number of said knife means into said intersecting'position when moved in one direction and a different number of said knife means into said intersecting position when moved in another direction.

2. A roll slicing machine operable to form vertical slits between adjacent pairs of rolls connected in a cluster either of odd or even numbers of rolls in excess of two formed in a row, means to feed said row clusters of rolls along a path in said machine while extending transversely to said path, a plunality of vertical shafts each having one end intersecting said path and spaced apart in a direction transverse to said path, horizontal knife means supported by said ends of said shafts and operable to slice rolls of said clusters in parallellism to the bottoms thereof, a plurality of vertical knife means spaced apart transversely of said path a distance at least equal to the width of two rolls and mounted for movement into and away from positions to intersect certain of the connections between said rolls at least partially to slice said clusters vertically bet-ween adjacent rolls, thereby to form slits to receive said ends of said vertical shafts, positioning means interengageable with said vertical knife means, and unitary actuating means for said positioning means having several different movements and engageable with said positioning means and operable selectively during one movement thereof to engage said positioning means and dispose a desired number of said vertical knife means into position to intersect said path and hold the said knife means so positioned to form slits between certain adjacent rolls of each cluster to divide clusters of even numbers of rolls at least partially into pairs of rolls, said actuating means during a different movement thereof being operable to engage said positioning means and dispose a different desired number of said vertical knife means into position to intersect said path and form slits between selected adjacent rolls of each cluster to divide clusters of odd number of rolls at least partially into pairs of rolls.

3. The roll slicing machine set forth in claim 2 further characterized by said positioning and actuating means including a plurality of cams supported for differ- 14 cut common movements respectively to dispose said vertical knife means in different arrangements relative to each other.

I 4. The roll slicing machine set forth in claim 3 further characterized by said cams being of two different kinds, one kind being operable during both movements of said actuating means to dispose a limited number of said vertical knife means in slitting position, and the other kind of cam being operable during only one of said movements of said actuating means to dispose additional vertical knife means in slitting position.

5. The roll slicing machine set forth in claim 4 further including means commonly supporting said cams and movable in opposite directions comprising said plurality of movements.

6. The roll slicing machine set forth in claim 4 further including a shaft supported for movement in opposite directions and commonly supporting said cams, one kind of said cams having plural rises thereon respectively operable in either direction of rotation of said shaft and the other kind of cams having only a single rise thereon operable in only one direction of rotationof said shaft to project said vertical knife means into slitting positions.

7. A roll slicing machine operable to form vertical slits between adjacent pairs of rolls connected in a cluster either of odd or even numbers of rolls in excess of two formed in a row, means to feed said row clusters of rolls along a path in said machine while extending transversely to said path, a plurality of vertical shafts each having one end intersecting said path and spaced apart in a direction transverse to said path, horizontal knife means supported by said ends of said shafts and operable to slice rolls of said clusters in parallellism to the bottoms thereof, a plurality of arms all pivotally supported at one end for movement relative to a common axis, a plurality of vertical disc knives respectively rotatably supported by the other ends of said arms and spaced apart transversely of said path a distance at least equal to the width of two rolls, the outer ends of said arms being movable vertically relative to said path to position said vertical knives thereon respectively in idle positions below said path and elevated operative positions to intersect certain of the connections between said rolls at least partially to slice said clusters vertically between adjacent rolls, thereby to form slits to receive said ends of said vertical shafts, positioning means comprising a plurality of cams engage-able respectively with said arms, :and means supporting said cams for movement in different directions and operable upon movement of said cams in one direction to elevate selected vertical knives into elevated position operative to intersect said clusters moving along said path and form slits between a djacents rolls to divide said cluster at least partially into pairs of rolls, and upon said cams being moved in another direction different selected vertical knives being moved into similar elevated positions to form slits between different adjacent rolls to divide said cluster at least partially into pairs of rolls.

8. The roll slicing machine set forth in claim 7 further including cam follower rollers on said arms, and shaft means rotatably supported and having said cams mounted thereon in spaced relationship and rotatable in opposite directions therewith while engaging said cam follower rollers to raise and lower said vertical knives, said cams being of two kinds respectively disc-like and hook-shaped and both kinds of cams uniformly elevating all of said arms and vertical knives when rotated in one direction by said shaft and said hook-shaped cams not elevating the knives on the arms engaged thereby when said shaft is rotated in the opposite directions, such latter movement also effecting locking of the hook-shaped cams relative to the cam follower rollers engaged thereby and thus limit such rotatable movement of said shaft in said direction.

9. The roll slicing machine set forth in claim 7 further including drive pulleys connected to and rotatable with said vertical disc knives, a drive shaft commonly supporting a plurality of driven pulleys thereon spaced correspondingly to said knives, and drive belts extending around said driven and drive pulleys, said belts being tightened about said pulleys to effect rotation of said vertical knives when said arms are elevated and said belts being rendered slack when said arms are lowered, thereby to render said knives stationary.

10. A roll slicing machine comprising in combination, means to feed clusters of rolls connected together along a predetermined path, horizontal knife means positioned within a plane intersecting said rolls when moving along said path and operable to slice the same between the top and bottom thereof, a plurality of shafts respectively supporting said knife means, rotatable members respectively supporting said shafts, means to drive said rotatable members, and automatically operable chuck means in said rotatable members adapted releasably to lock said shaft thereto for rotation therewith, said chuck comprising interfitting locking detent means and recess means combined with means automatically to urge said detent means retractably into said recess means when said shaft is moved axially outwardly from said chuck, one of said means being on said shaft and the other being carried by said rotatable member.

11. A roll slicing machine comprising in combination, means to feed clusters of rolls connected together along a predetermined path, horizontal knife means positioned within a plane intersecting said rolls when moving along said path and operable to slice the same between the top and bottom thereof, a plurality of shafts respectively supporting said knife means and having keyways therein, rotatable members having holes therein receiving and respectively supporting said shafts and also having keying recesses therein, means to drive said rotatable members, and chuck means in said rotatable members operable releasably to lock said shaft thereto for rotation therewith, said chucks each comprising a locking key carried by said rotatable member within the key recess therein and projecting therefrom for reception within the keyway of said shaft when said shaft is inserted within the hole in said rotatable member, and resilient means operable to urge said locking key retractably into said keyways of said shafts.

12. The roll slicing machine set forth in claim 11 further characterized by the portion of said keys projecting into said keyways of said shafts being curved and operable to cam the keys to retracted positions within said rotatable members when said shafts are being inserted into and removed from said rotatable members, and said resilient means comprising compressible rubber-like members.

13. A roll slicing machine comprising in combination,

means to feed clusters of rolls connected together along a predetermined path, horizontal knife means positioned within a plane intersecting said rolls when moving along said path and operable to slice the same between the top and bottom thereof, a plurality of shafts respectively supporting said knife means at one end, rotatable members having holes therethrough receiving the other ends of said shafts for respectively supporting said shafts, said other ends of said shafts projecting beyond one end of said rotatable members, means to drive said rotatable members, chuck means in said rotatable members operable releasably to lock said shaft thereto for rotation therewith, and ejecting means mounted adjacent said one end of said rotatable member and movable into engagement with said projecting other end of said shaft to move the shaft relative to said rotatable member and disengage said shaft from the locking effect of said chuck, thereby to facilitate the removal of said shaft and cutter from said rotatable member.

14. A roll slicing machine comprising in combination, means to feed clusters of rolls connected together along a predetermined path, horizontal knife means positioned within a plane intersecting said rolls when moving along said path and operable to slice the same between the top and bottom thereof, a plurality of shafts respectively supporting said knife means atone end, rotatable members having holes therethrough receiving the other ends of said shafts respectively to support said shafts, means to drive said rotatable members, said other ends of said shafts projecting beyond one end of said rotatable members and arranged in a row, chuck means in said rotatable members operable releasably to lock said shafts thereto for rotation therewith, said chucks each comprising interfitting cam-type key means and recess means combined with means to urge said key means retractably into said recess means, one of said means being on said shaft and the other carried by said rotatable member, and a bar supported adjacent said projecting other ends of said shafts and movable into engagement commonly with all of said projecting ends and operable thereby to disengage said shafts from said key means and thus facilitate removal of said shafts and knives from said machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,046,681 Haralson et al. July 7, 1936 2,395,237 Swenson Feb. 19, 1946 2,711,020 Hastings June 21, 1955 2,803,279 Strand Aug. 20, 1957 2,811,997 Schmidt et al. Nov. 5, 1957 

1. A ROLL SLICING MACHINE OPERABLE TO FORM VERTICAL SLITS BETWEEN ADJACENT PAIRS OF ROLLS CONNECTED IN A CLUSTER EITHER OF ODD OR EVEN NUMBERS OF ROLLS IN EXCESS OF TWO FORMED IN A ROW, MEANS TO FEED SAID ROW CLUSTERS OF ROLLS ALONG A PATH IN SAID MACHINE WHILE EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TO SAID PATH, A PLURALITY OF VERTICAL SHAFTS EACH HAVING ONE END INTERSECTING SAID PATH AND SPACED APART IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO SAID PATH, HORIZONTAL KNIFE MEANS SUPPORTED BY SAID ENDS OF SAID SHAFTS AND OPERABLE TO SLICE ROLLS OF SAID CLUSTERS IN PARALLELLISM TO THE BOTTOMS THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF VERTICAL KNIFE MEANS SPACED APART TRANSVERSELY OF SAID PATH A DISTANCE AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF TWO ROLLS AND MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT INTO AND AWAY FROM POSITIONS TO INTERSECT CERTAIN OF THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SAID ROLLS AT LEAST PARTIALLY TO SLICE SAID CLUSTERS VERTICALLY BETWEEN ADJACENT ROLLS, THEREBY TO FORM SLITS TO RECEIVE SAID ENDS OF SAID VERTICAL SHAFTS, POSITIONING MEANS INTERENGAGEABLE WITH SAID VERTICAL KNIFE MEANS 